Fast Food Industry study of Pizza Hut

Fast Food Indus fork over break down of pizza shantyIntroductionA major transformation in business worry is that placements be testifying to optimize every(prenominal) nerve of business. on that point has been a keen strain into every aspect of business which mass give the government activity a equipment casualty or bore knock against over its competitors. Effective tot up compass trouble (SCM) is capable of both the above menti wholenessd advantages. If we look into the sundry(a) components of SCM and analyze their conditional relation in the context of the above we find that they argon quite squ ar and capable of achieving price and quality edge over competitors.In this look the focus pull up stakes be to reflect conglomerate factors influencing the put up kitchen stove guidance in lush diet exertion by referring to pizza hut. The aspects associated to price quality and node satisfaction topic be covered with this inquiry. The close sustenan ce application has seen huge transformations in the recent past the affect of these transformations on the fork over orbit management is to a fault discussed in this look. compassAs we know that bring string manages the entire materials from suppliers (Suppliers of raw materials to the organization) to retailers and distri andors to the clients. There atomic number 18 mingled disciplines tortuous in this system. for example the supplier relations management, inventory management, distribution system, retail management, reverse emerge kitchen stove management. It has been observed that action in one discipline peck influence the performance of the whole chain and similarly the performance of the organization. (T.J. Peters 1982 Riddalls 2002).More and more than organizations / industries are identifying the signifi stubce of tot up chain management. In footing of inquiry there are three most researched issues in the whole add chain management, they areInformation flow through and through supply chainInventory / wareho phthisis perplexityOperations Management (queuing system)The agile pabulum industry is one of the most competitive industries. The competition majorly dep hold ons upon price, quality and swear out (which are nucleus aspects of communicate Chain Management). therefore there is immense pressure on all the organizations in the fast food industry to honour the three aspects examine above to their supreme best.As fast food industry is one of the most emerged industries in the recent past, the supply chain has seen huge transformations in this industry. The industry is still emerging so as the transformations in the supply chain management of this industry. so this study helps the learner identify and get wind the factors driving change and the factors influencing the supply chain performance.few of the research questions and research objectives are underpinnedenquiry QuestionsThis research get out not only try to present th e study associated with the title of the research but impart also try to answer the questions mentioned belowWhat is the core consequence of supply chain?What is the signifi flush toiletce of Supply Chain Management in fast food industry?What are the major components of Supply Chain Management?How authoritative is information sharing to cargo deck the supply chain useful?What factors influence / drive supply chain management in fast food industry?How is require forecast supply managed accurately?What is the tinge of supply chain management on overall performance of pizza sea chantey and in creating brand name for Pizza Hut?How does Pizza Hut manage their SC effectively?Similarly the research has set some objectives for itself to achieve in the course of this study. The research objectives are mentioned underneathResearch ObjectivesAligned with research questions we have set few objectives for this research. They are listed underneathTo understand the supply chain practices in fast food industryTo understand the difference amongst SCM practices in fast food industry and in other industries (manufacturing Service sector)To substantiate that effective core competencies can lead to competitive advantageIdentify significance of various parties in the supply chain on the performance of the supply chainTo understand the service level impact on the supply chainThe organization / comp both chosen for this researchPizza hut was started in the year 1958 by two brothers Dan Frank Carney. This was an idea suggested by a common friend which they concord to. In 1972 they introduced corporate strategy. In the mid 90s the profits of Pizza Hut were declining. Hence Dan Frank Carney thought of selling out the company. In the year 1997 Yum Brands acquired pizza hut and is currently (Pizza hut) under Yum BrandsHighlight of Pizza hut is its variety in Pizza, garlic bread, pasta and breadsticks. In order to meet the yieldion of the mentioned (menu) proceedss pizza needs to co-ordinate all the suppliers of vegetables, chicken and bread and work in coordination with them. Keeping this aspect in effect(p) is the key success factor of Pizza Hut. As we know that if an organization can manage its core competencies effectively they can surely act as competitive advantage for the company.As the ingredients for various wares of pizza hut are acquired through various suppliers from different parts of the globe. There has to be proper dialogue to keep the supplies and demand under check. In order to keep this aspect effective the company has utilise Total Quality Management (TQM) accomplish.The strategic policy of Yum Brands involve the suppliers to understand their role and impact in the overall performance of the organization. This keeps the supplier relations management aspect in place for the organization.Pizza Hut has restaurants and they also deliver their products to customers place. The supply chain in these cases differs. If it is served at the restaurant then it usually shortens the supply chain and if the product (pizza, pasta etc), then the supply chain has transportation allowd in the supply chain.Both these aspects leave be discussed in detail in this studyLimitations of the studyAs the research focuses on the supply chain management of fast food industry, there may be few differences in the supply chain then the supply chain of other industries. This research does not specifically answer questions which are out of the industry / focus of this research.The supply chain of fast food industry keeps changing in short intervals. We have foc utilise this study on supply chain of Pizza hut. This may answer the ecumenic questions with the supply chain of fast food industry but may not answer the specific questions of other organizations.Literature reviewSupply chain plays a unfavorable role in maintain the organizations brand image and service levels in the market. In this section we leave alone speak about Sup ply Chain Management (SCM) in general first and then will confine it to the fast food industry.Supply chain is the depot employ to define the parties involved in the process of meeting customer demand. The parties involved in the supply chain areSuppliersManufacturers / producersDistributorsRetailerscustomers(Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002) (Stanley E. Fawcett and Gregory N. 2004)A apprize of their role in the supply chain in underpinnedAs we know that supply chain management is a discipline that manages and controls the flow of information throughout the various departments to meet the customer demands. The supply chain starts from the extreme beginning of the manufacturing process i.e. acquiring the raw materials from the suppliers or in other words choosing the suppliers and ends at the extreme end of the production process i.e. the customers. (Raghavan, N.R.S., Viswanadham, N., 2001)The members or parties of the supply chain are briefed belowSuppliers suppliers are a signi ficant party in the supply chain. The raw materials are supplied / acquired through this resource. In hurt of quality of materials / products the suppliers are held responsible. The price of the product depends upon the price of the raw material as well and the supply of raw material will influence the companys ability to meet the customer demand at the decline time. Hence we can say that suppliers have a great impact on the price of the product and companys ability to meet the customers demand on time. (Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002)Manufacturers / Producers These are the members who convert raw materials / semi end goods to finished goods. The production process is significant as the company judges the quality and attributes of the process in this build hence manufacturers also influence the quality of the product. (Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002)Distributors These are people who are responsible to make the product reach to the market (retailers). The distributors can b e also termed as marketing intermediaries. There are various aspects associated with marketing of a product and choosing the advanced distributors. The reach of the distributor will always be like a shot proportional to the accessibility of the product in the market. (Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002)Retailers These are people who are at the end of the supply chain. In other words these are the people who sell the product to the customers (supermarkets, stores etc). They are one of the significant members in the supply chain as they are in direct contact with the customers. They represent the product on behalf of manufacturer to the customers. The demand and customer feedback can be analyzed at this level. (Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002)Customers These are the end users of the products. Customers were not considered as a part of supply chain, but the contemporary methods and study has added customers into the supply chain. (Riddalls, C.E., Bennett, S., 2002)The significance of these parties in the supply chain varies in context to industries. hardly a(prenominal) of the terms involved in SCM are underpinnedInventory sizeThis helps the organization decide the amount (size) of inventory to be ordered. This is one of the significant aspects in the fast food industry as this helps the organization not only order the right sum of money but also meet the customers needs with minimum resources possible. (Raghavan, N.R.S., Viswanadham, N., 2001)Replenishment Lead TimeThis refers to the time between placing an order and acquiring the raw material. Usually lead time is always considered as an entity that makes the supply chain ineffective (loss in supply chain). (Raghavan, N.R.S., Viswanadham, N., 2001)Stock outsStock outs are very common in every trade. This is a situation that arises due to miscommunications in supply chain parties, lack of analysis, bad demand and gross revenue forecasting.Safety telephone lineThis is the excess stock that a firm maintains to manage demand fluctuations. The safety stock is maintained at the lowest levels as most of the firms are efficient in sales forecasting. grade PointThis is a point in inventory levels wherein the firm feels the need to order more inventories. particular(prenominal) TO FAST FOOD INDUSTRYFast food is referred to food which can be cooked easily and can be eaten quickly. There are various food chains across the world, which are famous for fast food.If we look into the history of the fast food industry, the roots of fast food are from 1920s and from fifties this industry saw a rapid growth. There are many reasons for this transformation in food habits of people. People were busy and did not find time to cook food or even to custody for long hours after ordering food. There arose the term fast food. The Asians ( ad hocally Chinese) are responsible for this term and industry. There lies the secret behind the customer expectations. Customers expect food to be served quickly, should be delicious and should be healthy. In this scenario all the parties of the supply chain play a major role in meeting this expectation. (Tony Hines, 2004)Few of the objectives of supply chain management in fast food industry are mentioned underneathSupply chain planningThis sets the chain direction and the strategies associated with all the aspects of supply chain. This is the overall sketch of the supply chain. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004) procurementThis is the process of selecting a supplier and managing healthy and profitable relation with them. This also helps the organization maintain quality of their products. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)Inventory managementThis process helps the organization maintain right level of stock in the organization and eliminate stock outs with variation in demand for the product. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)PackagingThis is a discipline that hel ps in ensuring right package design and reducing the cost by encouraging the recycling process of packaging. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)WarehousingThis is the process of storing the raw material, semi finished and finished goods. Effective storage and correct warehouse design can reduce the overall cost of the product (eliminates transportation cost to a certain extent) and improve the availability of the product. The other factors in this discipline are safety of the product, storage methods and locations of the warehouses. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)TransportationThis process refers to transportation management of goods. This includes all the possible modes of transferring goods from one location to another. The records maintenance are also included in this aspect. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)LogisticsThis is referred to the use of technology in maintaining all the discip lines of supply chain effectively. The use of softwares is a trend in logistics management (CRM softwares). (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)Customer Service and marketingThis refers to meeting the customer expectations effectively and creating new opportunities through customer service. This is one of the major aspects that organizations are focusing in contemporary business world. (David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi, 2004)The entire above mentioned are effective ways to remain competent, exist and grow in the market. Therefore managing supply chain effectively can help the business prosper.There are few other associated concepts which have an influence on the supply chain, one of them is Bull Whip Effect.Bull Whip EffectThis is referred to sudden increase in customer demand that forces the supply chain to reconsider its strategy and rear cast off the stocks in the supply chain. This forces the management to include more stocks i nto the system to meet the increased product demand. The Bull whip effect always flows in reverse direction to the flow of products. I.e. starting with realtor and ending it with the supplier of raw materials to the manufacturers. (Raghavan, N.R.S., Viswanadham, N., 2001), (Peter D Ball, 2006)There are various reasons of Bull Whip Effect few of them are mentioned underneathUnder estimation of demandWrong sales reportInefficiencies Lead time managementMiscommunication in the supply chain(Peter D Ball 2006)Hence we can say that effective communication (information flow) in the supply chain is significant.The fast food industry cannot store the stock (Raw materials) in advance. Most of the products are vegetables and souses, which need to be fresh. Hence effective supply chain management is required.It has been observed that the major focus of most of the fast food chains is to improve the service levels (quality of the product and delivery time to the customers). Recently it has also been observed that in developing countries such as India, Pakistan, Srilanka and others, the fast food industry is focusing on the quantity and price factors. Once again this can be achieved through effective supply chain management.Research methodological analysisResearch methodology plays a vital role in the burden of every research. There are various aspects, which a tec needs to consider, before during and after gathering selective information for a research. Few of the aspects are presented underneath and are discussed in the context of the research. (Cooper, D. Schindler, P. 1998)Research antennaThere are various research approaches possible. Few of them are underpinnedInductive approachDeductive approachQualitative approach three-figure approach(Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. 2003)A brief of the above four is given belowInductive approach The term itself indicates that this process starts with a point and ends up adding information and few more points on the way t hrough to making general interpretations about the research topic. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. 2003)Deductive approach This refers to an approach that starts with few concepts and theories and tries to confine the pass on in the context of the research focus. This is one of the widely used approaches to reach to a conclusion in general researches to add more specific information to existing concepts. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. 2003)Qualitative approach This approach relies on the existing theories and practices. In other words this approach is based on the tested and proven methods. The gettable literature is the major source in this approach. This is called qualitative as the research results can be more reliable then compared to other methods / approaches of research. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. 2003)Quantitative approach This is one of the widely used research approaches. This approach relies on a wider study and does not majorly rely on the literature, instead will take a concept or theory from the existing literature and will research about it in the purlieu (surroundings). This is one of the approach used to make general interpretations about a concept or theory. The major methods of this research approach are surveys, questionnaire, interviews etc. (Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. 2003)The research approach for this research will not be restricted to any of the research approaches. We will use all the approaches possible to keep this study effective. As there are various factors influencing the supply chain and the fast food industry is specific, hence we will try to emanate the drawbacks of various approaches and will use all possible methods to gather apt and result oriented info.Research StrategyResearch strategy for every research is significant. As we know that this influences the outcome of the research, hence we have decided to formulate two questionnaires for gathering data. One will focus on the management and the other will focus on the experiences of the customers. This will also help in viewing all the aspects in this research. For this research we will also contact few industry experts to analyse the interpretations and results of the research to keep it effective.Data sourcesThere are various sources through which data can be pull together. The data for any research can be divided into two categories. They areResearch specific data (Primary data)Supporting data (secondary data)The above two are explained in brief belowResearch Specific dataThis is also known as essential data. The term itself indicates that this data is specific to the research. The data that is collected to answer the set research questions is known as primary data. The major sources for gathering data in this category are interviews, focus groups, surveys, observations, questionnaires, telephonic interviews, etc (Bryman, A. Bell, E. 2003)Supporting dataThis refers to the data that fills the gaps left by the primary data. As the major function of this data is to support the research, hence this is known as supporting data. This data is not research specific, instead is gathered from the available literature or some other pertinent research. The major sources through which this data can be gathered are academic books, magazines, newspapers, internet, etc (Bryman, A. Bell, E. 2003)The data for this research will be gathered through formulating two questionnaires and using two methods. First we will try to contact the management of Pizza hut through email and take their responses on the questionnaire the second will be to carry-out a general survey in public to know about the customer service (and associate it with the effectiveness of the supply chain). We will also utilize the secondary sources such as net profit to gather pertinent data to make the research effective.Data AnalysisThere are various aspects that a research needs to focus before, during and after gathering d ata for a research. These aspects help the researcher keep the data effective in the context of the study.Few of the aspects are listed belowValidity This refers to the relevancy of variables in the study. As we know that there are various variables in a research. This aspects ensures that the data gathered should be relative to the research. In other words these aspects state that there has to be inter-connectivity between the focus of the research and the data gathered. (Ghauri, R. Gronhaug, K. 2005)We will try to gather relevant data and will avoid vagueness in data. The data gathered will be confined to the research focus but will also try to remain soggy to answer various other research associated questions.Reliability This aspect refers to neutral (correct or accurate) and bias free results. In other words this aspect states that if the same data is used again for a similar research the results of the research should be similar. This also states that there should be any bias ed interpretation or should be a favor for any person or organization through this research. (Ghauri, R. Gronhaug, K. 2005)We will not only stay neutral while interpreting the findings and framing the results of this research, but will also send the results to few industry experts to seek their view. This will eliminate the bias aspect from the research and will keep the research effective.Generalizability This refers to the spectrum covered by the research answers in resolving the general issues. In other words the results of the research should be able to answer a wide range of real time issues. (Ghauri, R. Gronhaug, K. 2005)We will try to keep the results as general as possible and will also try to cover as many issues as possible.Authenticity of data sources This is one of the significant aspects of any research. The data gathered should be from reliable sources. The authenticity of data sources defines the effectiveness of the research. (Collis, J. Hussey, R. 2009)We will tr y to gather data from authentic sources. As we have formulated questionnaires and are gathering data through sources which are reliable, I believe we can surely guarantee the authenticity of data sources.Ethical IssuesThis refers to the methods used for gathering data. The ethical issues are quite significant for every researchs credibility towards the society. This includes a code of bestow that states that the methods used for data gathering and research should not include any method that is illegal or unacceptable. The methods or results of the research should not harm any person / firm / industry. (Crowther, D. Lancaster, G. 2009)The methods used for this research will be decided by keeping the above code of conduct in mind and will not include any such methods which fall out of the code of conduct. We will try to keep the work ethical and free from any bias.PROJECT PLANWeeks0-23-45-67-89-1011-1213-1415Background ReadingResearch ProposalTheoretical frameworkPrimary Secondary Data gatheringReport Making conformationConclusionSupply chain management plays a significant role in managing resources and effective customer service irrespective of industry. The fast food industry is customer driven and the service level plays a significant role in creating expectations with the customers. The fast food industry (Specifically Pizza hut) will be studied in the context of the supply chain extensively and the research results will be framed.We will study all the associated aspects and will try to cover all the potential issues under the focus of the research. We will keep the research bias free and ethical to the extreme possibility.